Ceiling air terminal

ABSTRACT

A ceiling terminal to distribute conditioned air into an area to be conditioned employing inflatable bladder dampers to regulate the quantity of air discharged into the area served thereby. The terminal damper-control module assembly is slidably engaged within the terminal for ease of removal therefrom for cleaning, adjustment, or repair purposes.

Inventor Applr No. 829,620

Filed June 2,1969 Patented July 6,1971 Assignee CEILING AIR TERMINAL 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl

Int. Cl

Field of Search David F. Bryans Cazenovia, N.Y.

Carrier Corporation Syracuse, N .Y.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1963 Church et al. 98/40 1/1965 Church et al. 236/80 8/1966 Palmquist.... 98/40 4/1969 Averill .l 98/40 Primary Examiner-William F. ODea Assirranr Examiner-P. D. Ferguson Aztorneys- Harry 6. Martin, Jr. and J. Raymond Curtin ABSTRACT: A ceiling terminal to distribute conditioned air into an area to be conditioned employing inflatable bladder 236/49, dampers to regulate the quantity of air discharged into the 98/40 D, 236/80 area served thereby. The terminal damper-control module as- F24i 7/00 sembly is slidably engaged within the terminal for ease of 98/40 D; removal therefrom for cleaning, adjustment, or repair pur- 236/49, 80 poses.

33 3i 4| -I is f 47 37 47 i E I I6 I I i F a L- g: a J ;J

7 9 ll I3 I 1 l E 2 PATENTED JUL 6 |97| SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR.

F. BRYANS.

DAVID BY ATTORNEY.

CEILING AIR TERMINAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In order to regulate the quantity of air discharged from an air-conditioning terminal, a damper employing inflatable bladders may be used to vary the area of the air passage through the terminal. The degree of bladder inflation may be regulated by a control air system employing a portion of the conditioned air supplied to the terminal as control air. To provide accurate control of the temperature in the area being conditioned, the terminal control may include air filters, pressure regulators, and thermostats. Since it is ordinarily necessary to clean and adjust these mechanisms periodically, it is desirable to provide an air terminal employing an easily removable damper and control assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION the terminal for cleaning, adjustment, or repair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a schematic of a portion of an air-conditioning system illustrating the air terminal of the present invention in section;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the damper-control module assembly located for insertion into a ceiling terminal disposed above the surface of a ceiling; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an air terminal with the damper-control module assembly and the insulated sidewalls thereof removed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is illustrated a central air-conditioning apparatus including a filter 5, a cooling coil 7, spray means 9, cooling coil 11, heating coil 13, and a fan for heating, cooling, humidifying, and filtering the air as desired to provide conditioned air for passage to the area 16 represented by dotted lines which is being conditioned.

A supply air duct 17 is illustrative of the plurality of ducts provided to supply conditioned air to ceiling air terminals throughout the building. The ceiling terminal includes a primary chamber 19 lined with a sound absorbing material 21 such as glass fiber blanket. The primary chamber is ordinarily open at both ends for connecting a series of terminals end to end to provide a complete air discharge system. Suitable end pieces, not shown, are utilized to cap the end terminals in the series. An air supply distribution plate 23 having a plurality of collared openings 25 therein is provided to evenly distribute the supply air from primary chamber 19 into a distribution chamber 27 which is defined by the top and sidewalls of distribution plate 23.

The bottom of distribution chamber 27 includes aligned cutoff plates 29 which are provided with a curved surface 30 for engagement by bladders 31 and 33 to form a damper. The curved surfaces smooth the flow of air through the damper to minimize the pressure drop therethrough and minimize noise generation within the terminal. The surface 30 is covered with felt 32 to further minimize noise. By varying the inflation of the bladders, the area of the openings between the bladders and the cutoff plates can be varied to regulate the quantity of air discharged into the area being conditioned.

The bladders 31 and 33 are adhesively mounted on a central partition comprises of opposed generally convex plates 35. The plates have a V-shaped recess therein so that the bladders are completely recessed within the plates when deflated. This provides a large area between the active walls 34 of the bladders and the cutoff plates for maximum airflow therebetween. Further, the recessed bladder provides a smooth surface along the plate 35 to minimize air turbulence.

The damper mechanism is disposed a substantial distance upstream from the discharge openings in the terminal to provide sufficient space therebetween to absorb any noise generated by the damper mechanism.- From maximum sound absorption, downwardly extending walls 41 which form air passages in conjunction with plates 35 are lined with a sound absorbing material such as glass fiber blankets 43. Outlet members 45 having outwardly flared lower portions 47 thereon are affixed as by welding to the walls 41.

The dampercontrol module assembly illustrated in FIG. 2 is comprised of convex plates 35, bladders 31 and 33, and a control module 39 mounted on triangular difiuser section 37. The control module consists of a frame 48 having filters 49, pressure regulators 51, and thermostats 53 mounted therein. The filters 49 are provided with openings (not shown) in the top surface thereof for communication with primary chamber 19 when the damper-control module assembly is inserted into the air terminal. Filtered air from filters 49 is supplied to pressure regulators 51. Control air from pressure regulators 51 is supplied to thermostats 53 and to bladders 31 and 33. For a complete description of the operation of the control system, reference may be had to U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,253, granted Jan. 26, 1965, in the names of Richard A. Church and Boris W. I-Iaritonoff.

The illustrated control module is provided with two filters, two regulators, and two thermostats to control bladders 31 and 33 independently. This may be desired when the air terminal is disposed above a room partition for individual temperature control on each-side of the partition. It should be understood that a single set of control elements could be employed to control both bladders simultaneously. By reference to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the air terminal is provided with three downwardly extending partition members 55 to provide a control section 57 and an air discharge section 59. It should be understood that the portion of distribution plate 23 above control section 57 is imperforate and that the cutoff plates 29 do not extend within the control section. The partitions are provided with recessed portions 61 which act as guides for slidably receiving the damper-control module assembly. Suitable spring clips 63 are provided to hold the damper-control module assembly with the air terminal. The control section is sealed from the remainder of the terminal to prevent leakage of conditioned air therein. Room air may therefore pass upwardly into the control section over the thermostats to provide damper control in response to room temperature conditions.

It can be seen from the foregoing that the portions of the terminal which may require cleaning, adjustment, or repair are easily removed and that a simplified, compact, self-contained thermostatically controlled air terminal is provided.

I claim:

1. A ceiling air terminal comprising:

a primary chamber adapted for connection to a source of conditioned air;

opposed, downwardly projecting wall members having outwardly flared end portions thereon associated with said primary chamber, said wall members forming a passageway therebetween for discharging conditioned air from the terminal;

opposed cutoff means disposed within said passageway;

a triangularly shaped diffuser member adapted for cooperation with the outwardly flared end portions of said wall members to provide a substantially horizontal discharge of conditioned air from the terminal;

bladders mounted on said plate members for cooperation sembly between said side wall members; and 7 clip means for releasably securing said damper-control module assembly in said terminal.

2. A ceiling air terminal according to claim 1 further including filter means mounted in said frame member between said pressure regulator and said primary chamber to filter the air supplied to said regulator, a thermostat mounted in said frame member, said thermostat being adapted to receive said air from said regulator for cooperation with said regulator to control the degree of inflation of said bladders. 

1. A Ceiling air terminal comprising: a primary chamber adapted for connection to a source of conditioned air; opposed, downwardly projecting wall members having outwardly flared end portions thereon associated with said primary chamber, said wall members forming a passageway therebetween for discharging conditioned air from the terminal; opposed cutoff means disposed within said passageway; a triangularly shaped diffuser member adapted for cooperation with the outwardly flared end portions of said wall members to provide a substantially horizontal discharge of conditioned air from the terminal; damper means including opposed plate members, inflatable bladders mounted on said plate members for cooperation with said cutoff means to restrict flow of air therebetween when said bladders are inflated; a control module comprising a frame member; a pressure regulator adapted to receive air from said primary chamber and regulate the pressure of control air supplied to said bladders, said regulator being mounted on said frame member, said damper means and said control module being mounted on said triangularly shaped diffuser member to form a damper control module assembly therewith; guide means mounted on said terminal for slidably receiving and centrally locating said damper-control module assembly between said side wall members; and clip means for releasably securing said damper-control module assembly in said terminal.
 2. A ceiling air terminal according to claim 1 further including filter means mounted in said frame member between said pressure regulator and said primary chamber to filter the air supplied to said regulator, a thermostat mounted in said frame member, said thermostat being adapted to receive said air from said regulator for cooperation with said regulator to control the degree of inflation of said bladders. 